Dolls, animals, and like figures and the manufacture of the same



Feb. 3, 1942. A. E. PALLETT 2,271,711

DOLLS, ANIMALS, AND LIKE FIGURES AND TO THE MANUFACTURE OF THE SAME Filed July 1 2, 1940 A 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Feb. 3, 1942. A. E. PALLETT ANIMALS, AND LIKE FIGURES AND -TO' THE MANUFACTURE OF THE SAME DOLLS Filed July 12,- 1940 2 Shets-Sheet 2 I pouring Patented Feb. 3, 1942 DOLLS,

THE

ANIMALS, AND LIKE FIGURES AND MANUFACTURE OF THE sAME Alfred Edward Pallett, Leicester, England, assignor to Cascelloid Limited, Leicester, England, aBritish company Application 1111 712, 1940, Serial'No. 345,234

In Great Britain .2 Claims.

This invention relates to and concerns the manufacture of dolls and other model figures in human, animal or like forms, and has "reference more particularly to such articles of the kind having bodies which are provided with'movable members, such as heads and limbs.

According to one known method of making parts of articles of this kind a softened tube or two sheets of Celluloid or the like is or are positioned between steam heated moulds of appropriate form and after the moulds have been closed steam is blown into the tube or between thesheets to inflate the same.

Another known method includes the step of any suitable material into a mould, while yet another method involves the use of alpress in which cardboard or an appropriate composition is moulded to form component parts of dolls and other articles of the kind concerned.

Methods such as those just described .result in the parts being produced whole, i. e. not in halves, and in assembling such parts the heads .and limbs or the like are attached to the body by elastic connections by means of which they are maintained in position but enabled to be moved or turned. Connections of this character, however, are breakable.

Moreover, in manufacturing a doll by known .methods the eye and mouth openings areformed in the head after the moulding operation and this, together with the fitting of the eyes, .involves skilled labour. t

It is considered, therefore, that there aredisadvantages in the methods heretofore employed and those having a knowledge of the art concerned will be familiar with these.

The general object of the present invention .is to provide improvements in the manufacture of dolls, model animals and like articles of the kind referred to as will be hereinafter described whereby all previously known methods and operations are eliminated and such articles can be produced more expeditiously and without the degree of skilled labour heretofore involved.

The principal aim is to provide a doll of improved construction which besides being of good appearance and finis is practically unbreakable and made from non-inflammable material.

Considered from its broadest aspect the invention. consists in making the body of a doll, model animal or like article of the kind referred to in at least two parts, e. g. halves, and subsequently joining together or uniting these. partspreferably in a permanentmanner.

The movable members, such as the head and Jlily 22, 1939 aware this particular process the like, although it. Vnently suitable for =ess enables eye and .pressing process'for producing .the case of similarparts size, in multiple or sets, two ormore at a the limbs, or one or more of these components,

*may also be similarly produced, that 'is to say initially made in at least two parts and subsequently'joined together or united.

The parts to be joined or united may conveniently be moulded or otherwise formed to the appropriate final shapeand thensecured or stuck together by glue or any other suitable adhesive solution.

Preferably-and this constitutes a very important feature of the invention-the parts to be joined or united are of hollowed-outformation and made by what is now commonly known as the injection moulding or pressing process in which a suitable material such as'Celluloid or the like initially in powdered, flaked, or in thermoplastic form is heated and forced under hyinto cold, e. g. So far as I am y g has not heretoforeibeen used in the manufacture of dolls and is nowfound to be emithis purpose and results better and more easily obtained detail, for example as to facialfeatures, and finish than is possible with the processes heretofore adopted. Thus, .for instance, the injection moulding procmouth openings of any desired shape and dimensions to be accurately formed simultaneously with the production of the appropriate part of a head, instead of subse .quently as hereinbeforementioned.

When employing the injection moulding or doll and like parts, either .be produced singly or, .in of the same shapeand time.

Specific examples of the invention ..as applied to a doll are depicted in the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 represents some of the components of one form of the improved doll as they appear draulic or other high pressure water-cooled, moulds or dies.

the latter may during assembly,

simplicity in illustration,

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view :taken on the line III- 111 of Figure 1,

Figure 4 is a view somewhat similar to Figure 1 illustrating a modified formofthedoll,

Figure 5 is a longitudinal sectional'vie'w taken on the'line V-V'of Figure 4, and

Figurei6 is a transverse se'ctional'view'taken on the line"VI-VI ofFigure 5,.

"that is to say at its Like parts are designated by similar reference characters throughout the drawings.

In the drawings A represents the head, B the body, the arms and D the legs of the doll. Parts only of the doll have been shown in the various figures for convenience in illustration. The head A is constructed similarly in each of the examples illustrated. Accordingly, a clearer idea of the construction of the head depicted in Figures 1 and 2 will be gained from a consideration of Figures 5 and 6 which are drawn in section.

Now in accordance with the invention the component parts, that is to say the head, the

body and the limbs, are each made in two halves by the injection moulding process. The head A is divided transversely along the line I so that the eye openings 2, the mouth opening 3, the nose 4, the ears 5 and formations 6 simulating the front locks of hair are formed in and on the front half A whereas the back of the head and ofthe neck are constituted by the other half A The body B is similarl divided transversely along a plane I so that the two halves B and B respectively constitute the front and back of the body. The limbs for convenience in manufacture are also divided longitudinally into two halves. Thus, for instance, the arms C are each divided along a plane 8 into two halves 9 and H) as depicted in Figure 3, and the remaining limbs are similarly divided. The two halves B and B of the body are symmetrically shaped and, as shown more clearly in Figures 1 and 2, so moulded that when placed together there is at the top of the body a centrally disposed circu- 1.-

lar hole I l the entrance to which is in the form of a rounded socket I la, and at each side of the bodyone near the top and the other near the bottom thereoftwo further circular holes [2 and I 3. In the edge of each half of the body as moulded there are, therefore, five semi-circular recesses, one at the top, two adjacent to the top, and two near the bottom of the body (see Figure 1). On the other hand, the two parts A and A of the head A are so moulded that when juxtaposed the lower portion [4 of the neck is of practically semi-spherical form to fit within the rounded socket I la and has projecting downwardly therefrom a comparativel short cylindrical extension outer or lower end. Each of the arms C is similarly formed with a cylindrical extension I! which is flanged at I8. Again, each 'of the legs D is also formed with a somewhat similar flanged cylindrical extension I9, (Figure 1). The diameter of the various cylindrical extensions is such as to enable them to be readily received within .the correspondin circular holes, whereas, of course, the diameter of the flanges exceeds that of the said holes; thiswill be clear from a consideration of the drawings.

The back of the eye openings 2 in-the front half A of the head are moulded so as to form half ball sockets for reception of a pair of so-' called sleeping eyes 2| of more or less conventional form (see Figures 5 and 6). Before the two parts of the head are secured together the eyes 2| are appropriately positioned within these sockets, whereupon a solid piece 22 0f any suitable material formed with bearing portions which are the complement of the sockets is fitted and secured within the front half A to maintain the eyes in position. Thereafter the head parts are secured together by sticking as aforesaid to com- 75 plete the head A, and the arms C and legs D are completed in the same way.

When assembling the components, one half of the body, say the back half B is laid flat with the semi-circular recesses therein uppermost, and, after the cylindrical extension I5, I! and I9 of the head, arms and legs respectively have been positioned so as to seat within the appropriate recesses, the remainin half B of the body is applied and secured by sticking. In this wa the cylindrical extension become accommodated within circular holes which function as bearings, and the flanges I 6, l8 and 20 are located within the hollow body B. The construction is therefore such that the movable members can only be fitted before the body is assembled, and by reason of the disposition of the flanges the latter eifectually prevent the head, arm and legs from being pulled away and separated from the body of the completed doll.

If desired, means of any suitable character may be provided for exercising some control over the movable members and therby preventing these from being moved or turned too freely or easily. Conveniently for this purpose each of the aforesaid cylindrical extensions .may be surrounded by a rubber ring, small compression spring or any other equivalent yieldable element arranged to bear and press at one side or end against the corresponding flange and at the other side or opposite end against the adjacent portion of the body on the inside thereof. In this instance the rubber rings, compression springs or equivalent elements may be applied in position at any convenient stage during assembly but, of course, in any event before the final operation of securin together the two halves of the body. Thus, in the particular example illustrated in Figures 1-3, the cylindrical extension 15 is surrounded by a yieldable element 23, and the arm and leg extensions l1 and I9 are similarly surrounded by yieldable elements 24 and 25 respectively.

Alternatively, tension springs or equivalent may be employed for the intended purpose. In this connection the aforesaid cylindrical extensions or the corresponding flanges may be provided with eyes, pierced lugs or any other suitable formations to which appropriate ends of tension springs can be connected, the opposite ends of said springs being suitably anchored at a convenient location or locations within the hollow body. Such an arrangement is exemplified in Figures 4 and 5 wherein it will be seen that a tension spring 26 is anchored at one end to a pierced lug 21 formed on the flanged cylindrical extension of one arm C and at the opposite end to a similar pierced lug on the flanged extension of the other arm, while three further tension springs 28, 29 and 30 connected respectively with the head A and the two legs D are all anchored to a common pin, peg or similar'part such as 3| disposed more or less centrally within the body. This pin, peg or the like may, as indicated in Figure 5, be moulded integrally with one of the body halves (say the back half B as shown) and extend inwardly from the wall of the latter. The reference numeral 32 represents a pierced lug which is formed on the flange l6 for reception of one end of the spring 28,

Means of any suitable character maybe provided for limiting the turning movement of any one or more or all of the movable members. For example, one or more formations on one or each of the flanges may beadapted to cooperate with relatively fixed stop or abutment means in the body. Accordin to one specific arrangement shown in Figures 1-3 a radially projecting portion 33 on the flange It is adapted to work between a pair of spaced stops or abutments 3c in the form of fixed pins or like projections provided within the body, for the purpose of limiting movement of the head A. If desired, limiting means of this particular form may also be provided in conjunction with the arms or/and the legs.

Instead of adopting joints of the form herein specifically described, the body and the associated movable members may be connected by ball and socket joints, the body and head parts being moulded in halves, as before, with portions of the sockets in each half. For instance, sockets for reception of the eyeballs may be formed in the front half of the head behind the eye openings therein, while the back half is moulded with stalks formed with opposing half ball sockets adapted to fit up to the complementary socket portions in the front half. After the eyeballs have been put into the socket portions in one-half of the head the two halves are placed together and secured by sticking. A somewhat similar construction may be adopted in respect of the body which may be moulded in halves with socket portions in each to receive balls or like formations formed, e. g. moulded, on the head and the limbs.

It is not essential to mould each of the limbs in two or more parts. In fact it may be desired in some instances to mould each of the limbs as a whole.

Whatever form of joint is adopted, however, there may be more than one of such joints for each limb, e. g. at the elbows, wrists, knees and ankles as well as at the shoulders and hips.

From the foregoing description it will be appreciated that a feature of the invention resides in the provision of a completed doll or the like made in any of the ways set forth.

What I claim then is:

1. A doll comprising a body including a front body around the recesses being flat, disk-shaped enlargements formed on the inner ends of the bearing members for preventing the accidental displacement of the head, arms and legs from the body when the sections thereof are connected together, said disk-shaped enlargements forming annular shoulders parallel to the flat inner surfaces of the body, and annular yieldable elements surrounding the cylindrical members between the body wall and enlargements and having fiat parallel faces engaging the flat shoulders of the enlargements and the said flat inner surfaces of the body.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a doll comprising a hollow body and movable arms, legs and a head for the body, the body including a front and a back section, means connecting the sections together, the sections having mating bearing recesses formed in the meeting edges thereof, bearing members carried by the head, arms and legs arranged to fit in said bearing recesses, enlargements formed on said bearing members having a greater diameter than the bearing recesses for engaging the inner surface of the hollow body for preventing the accidental displacement of the head, arms and legs upon the body when the sections thereof are detachably connected together, and annular yieldable elements surrounding the cylindrical members between the body wall and enlargements, said enlargements and body wall having fiat confronting annular surfaces and the yieldable elements having fiat parallel faces engaging the confronting surfaces.

ALFRED EDWARD PALLETI. 

